Hassenger, Christopher

Born in 1840, Christopher Hassenger grew
up farming in Middle Island. As the Civil War got
underway, many hard working, middle class and poor people
thought they could relate to the difficult lives of Negro
slaves in the South. This served to rally recruits into
the Union Army.

At the age of twenty-two, Hassenger
joined this rally. On August 26, 1862, he enlisted at
Harrison, New York, for a three-year hitch. He was
assigned, along with friends from Middle Island, to the
15th Battery, New York Light Artillery. This unit had a
definite Long Island connection. Captain McMahon, the
unit commander, made it a point to recruit from this
area.

After moving to Washington, the 15th was
assigned to support the Army of the Potomac as it moved
into the Gettysburg campaign. Christopher Hassenger
served honorably through the turmoil on this great
battlefield. Captain Hart, who led the battery into
combat, detailed the battery's involvement at Gettysburg:

I was ordered by Major McGilvery to
go to the front with him, to take a position in the line
of battle. We met General Sickles, with whom the major
consulted. I halted my battery, and proceeded to the
front, when I met General Hunt, chief of artillery, who
ordered me to take a position on the left of the peach
orchard. I came into position and directed the fire of my
battery on one of the enemy's batteries, which was doing
heavy execution on our line of battle. I used solid shot
and shell with such effect that the enemy was compelled
to withdraw their battery. They then brought a battery
still farther to my right. They poured a tremendous
cross-fire into me, killing 3 of my men and wounding 5,
also killing 13 horses.
At this time my attention was drawn to a heavy column of
infantry advancing on our line. I directed my fire with
shrapnel on this column to good effect. I then changed to
canister repulsing the attack made on my battery.
After the first repulse of the enemy, they reformed and
advanced on me a second time, and were repulsed. At this
very moment I saw a very heavy column of the enemy
advancing on the left of the barn and through a
wheat-field, distant about 400 yards. I directed the fire
of the left piece of my battery with canister upon this
column, which did excellent execution, the enemy breaking
in confusion. At this time the enemy were advancing in
heavy force on me. I fired my last round of canister at
this column before I retired.

When the fighting ended on July 2nd, the 15th battery
retired to repair damages and receive more ammunition.
Captain Hart described the next days' fighting, which was
among the fiercest of the entire war:

Early on the morning of the 3rd, I
received orders by Major McGilvery's orderly to proceed
to the front, which order I immediately obeyed. General
Hunt passing along the line, told me to hold my position
and not to return the enemy's fire unless I saw his
infantry advancing; then to open fire to the best
advantage. When the infantry commenced to advance, I
fired shell and shrapnel until the right of his first
column came within 500 yards of me, when I opened with
canister, which took good effect. His second line
appeared to be coming direct for my battery. I turned all
my guns on this line, every piece loaded with two
canisters. I continued this dreadful fire on this line
until there was not a man of them to be seen. My battery
remained in position until near noon on the 4th, when I
was ordered to the rear.

Cannons, with embankments
thrown in front for protection. Photo from the Library of
Congress.

Throughout March and April of 1864,
Hassenger and a fellow Middle Island resident, Joel
Overton, helped move wounded on the ambulance train. In
May, Hassenger returned to his unit, which moved into the
Wilderness Campaign. Then, on the evening of May 9, 1864,
Christopher Hassenger was captured by the enemy at
Spotsylvania.

his was a battle of anticipation: Grant
anticipated Lee's retreat, and Lee anticipated Grant's
retreat to Spotsylvania. Lee ended up beating Grant to
Spotsylvania and was able to dig in at this vital
Confederate crossroad. It is very likely that Hassenger
was captured at the breastworks, in a region known as
"Bloody Angle."

While a prisoner of war, Hassenger became
very ill. On May 19, 1864, he was admitted to Danville
Hospital in Virginia suffering from epilepsy. He did not
return to his prison quarters until June 16. He remained
a prisoner until the end of the war. Nevertheless, his
military records were transferred to the 32nd Independent
Battery at Harpers Ferry in Virginia on February 4, 1865,
when the 15th Independent Battery was disbanded. This was
purely a procedural matter, since Hassenger did not fight
again. He was mustered out of service on July 14, 1865,
in New York City.